Economic Implications of Psychological Research

Question 1

Economic Implications of Psychological Research

Answer 1

The mission statement for the British Psychological Society is to be responsible for the development, promotion and application of Psychology for the public good. this relates to the economy of the country we live in. The ‘Economy’ concerns the production, distribution and consumption of goods and services.

Question 2

Social Influence Research

Answer 2

Research into Minority Influence has helped identified what factors are important when minorities want to become influential and elicit Social Change. One example of such instances is the adoption of recycling habits by the majority of us in the recent years. There are many economic benefits of recycling, one of which is that it is cheaper to make products using recycled materials, also by reducing expenditure as the amount of waste that needs to go to the landfill or incinerator is reduced. In addition, recycling creates new businesses such as for transporting, processing and selling recovered materials as well as new jobs. Dumping 10,000 tons of waste in a landfill creates 6 jobs while recycling 10,000 tons of waste creates 36 jobs.

Question 3

Memory Research

Answer 3

Any evidence relating to more efficient use of public money would be relevant. For example, research showing the cognitive interview facilitates accuracy of eyewitness reporting enables better use of police time and resources.

Question 4

Attachment Research

Answer 4

There are opportunities for extended discussion of economic implications here. Bowlby’s report in the 1950s was taken to suggest that babies needed the constant care of the mother for healthy psychological development. This led to ‘stay at home’ mothering. Later evidence has shown that good substitute care childcare either in nurseries or by other family members, eg, father, does not have a detrimental effect on social development. As an example then, this means that mother an happily return to work after having a child, remaining economically active.

Question 5

Approaches Research (Eg. Cognitive)

Answer 5

‘Brainomics’ is an area of science concerned with the health and development of a child’s brain and its interaction with the external environment. Growing up in poverty has been shown to have negative effects on cognitive skills such as development of language, learning and attention. The good news is that these effects have been found to be mitigate through targeted intervention. Evidence shows rapid frontal lobe development during adolescence which makes secondary school the perfect time to positively impact cognitive brain health by for example fostering critical thinking skills by the educational system, It seems reasonable to suggest that strategies that reduce the gaps in academic performance will have an impact in the economy by increasing future opportunities of employment and reducing chances of involvement of the criminal justice.

Question 6

Psychopathology Research

Answer 6

Anything to do with treatment and people’s ability to work and contribute as effective members of society would be relevant. For example, studies often compare the effectiveness of different therapies. if research shows that people with a disorder such as depression are less likely to suffer a relapse after having cognitive therapy then, even through cognitive therapy might initially be more expensive than drug therapy the, in the long-term it might be more economically sound to offer cognitive therapy as people would have less time off work.